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Poison the Well - You Come Before You
An album which veers from the ordinary to the exciting, this marks the major label debut of Poison the Well.
Put simply it’s Nu Metal and it has to be said on several tracks this could be one of many bands vying for a place on the next Kerrang! compilation.
But occasionally the Florida-based five piece throw melody into the works and get away from the "devil incarnate" vocal sound.
Meeting Again For the First Time is one such track. It lures you with simple guitar and cymbals before heading into familiar territory.
The Realist is almost in Nickelback territory.
A wholly adequate album with a slight twist but in a competitive metal market that might not be enough.
You Come Before You is released on Atlantic.
3/5
 Pole - Pole
Pole, essentially Stefan Betke, has been experimenting with loops and mixes for the last few years.
This apparently is the finished product. Which is a shame because Pole promises so much more.
Opening song Slow Motion features rapping Fat Jon. It might talk of "timecodes" but it delivers in bucket loads.
If only the rest of the album could be of this quality.
Unfortunately it’s downhill.
Even when Jon adds vocals on other tracks nothing quite reaches the peak of Slow Motion.
The moody soundscape blends in to one and pretty soon Pole is mere background music.
Pole is released on Mute records.
2/5
 Tahiti 80 - Wallpaper for the Soul
Faring better while exploring similar trippy landscapes is Tahiti 80.
Like a cross between Tears for Fears and Zero 7, it’s no surprise to discover the collective hails from France, home of spacious sounds like Air.
While the title track is mellow Tahiti 80 aren’t afraid to play blatant pop with an almost tinny production, which harks back to an 80s sound.
So again, it’s no surprise to find out that the strings on many of these tracks are arranged and conducted by Richard Hewson. Wasn’t he otherwise known as the Rah Band – Falcon, Clouds Across the Moon and all that.
So you get the idea of where we’re coming from. Pleasant without being demanding.
Wallpaper For the Soul is released on Atmospheriques.
3/5
 Magnet - On Your Side
There aren’t many artists who’d choose to record an album in Lockerbie, just a few miles from the Scotland / England border.
You can certainly focus on your work. What else are you going to do? Go to Dumfries to see memorials to Rabbie Burns or maybe watch Gretna playing football?
Well, it’s time well spent for Even Johansen who follows in the footsteps of Kings of Convenience with chilled Scandinavian melodies wrapped with a bit of Radiohead menace.
And Johansen’s not averse to going for the music dollar – he’s roped in trendy Gemma Hayes to rework Dylan’s Lay Lady Lay. And it works.
Tracks like Overjoyed are sparse and despondent – rather like the Lockerbie countryside.
The Day We Left Town has a filmic quality whereby you can almost see the tumbleweed rolling across the Prairie.
Float On as the Floaters once said.
On Your Side is released on Ultimate Dilemma
3.5/5
 Fred Wesley - Wuda, Cuda, Shuda
The man who’s been James Brown’s musical director brings us a jazzed up funked album to brighten up the greyest day.
Wesley’s worked with Bootsy Collins and George Clinton so he knows his way around a groove and Wuda Cuda Shuda has plenty of them.
It’s uptempo stuff with barely room to breath.
With titles like The Ballad of Beulah Baptist (a great song) these are hardly tracks which are going to trouble the charts.
But if you like jazz funk with a touch of the blues you’ll be hard pressed to find anything better.
Wuda Cuda Shuda is released on Bop Records
4/5
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